Necromancer 12

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12. Nayuka's Melancholy (From a Classmate's Perspective)

A few classmates are hanging out in the royal castle's lobby again today.

The rest are probably either playing in the capital or training to hone their skills.

"Shigure-kun still hasn't come back..."

Yamana Nayuka sat at the edge of the lobby, letting out a melancholic sigh.

She was a quiet, beautiful girl with long black hair braided into a plait.

It had been almost two days since her classmate, Yatenmiya Shigure, went missing after heading out for a ruin exploration.

All the other members of the expedition had returned to the castle, and none seemed particularly concerned.

"Hey, let's all go look for Shigure-kun!"

Once, she had tried to appeal to her classmates.

But most of them, looking annoyed, said things like:

"Huh? Who cares about Shigure?"

"He’ll come back eventually."

"It’s his fault for getting lost. Serves him right."

No one had taken her seriously.

With no other option, Nayuka had gone to the ruins by herself, but the anxiety of being alone overwhelmed her, and she ended up returning without entering.

"I'm... so useless..."

She despised her own weakness.

"What's wrong, all by yourself? Wait, are you crying?"

A boy approached her.

It was Kenzaki, from the kendo club.

Nayuka didn’t like him.

His clouded eyes seemed to harbor a burning desire for her, making her feel deeply uncomfortable.

"If you're alone, come hang out with me. I've been inviting you for a while, right?"

"I-I'm sorry, I have something I need to do—"

Saying she had something to do was a lie.

But if she didn’t reject him outright, she didn’t know what would happen if they ended up alone together.

He would surely make her the target of his desires.

That’s why she avoided him as much as possible, but Kenzaki was more persistent than she had expected.

"You always turn me down like that!"

Kenzaki's expression hardened.

Nayuka flinched and tensed up.

Today, he seemed more intimidating than usual.

"Do you know how lucky you are that someone like me chose you, a plain girl? And you're rejecting me?!"

"No... I don't want this..."

Nayuka shook her head tearfully.

"You bitch!"

Kenzaki’s skill sent a shockwave through the air.

Crash!

Part of the floor was gouged out, and debris was scattered.

Classmates in the lobby looked over, startled.

"What the hell are you looking at?!"

Kenzaki shouted angrily.

"Come on, Nayuka. Let’s have some fun together, yeah?"

His hot breath brushed against her skin.

Nayuka trembled and backed away.

Kenzaki closed the distance, following her retreat.

Then—

"That’s enough, Kenzaki."

A voice called out from behind.

"Nayuka doesn’t want this."

"What...?"

"You—"

Nayuka and Kenzaki both gasped in surprise as they turned around.

Standing there was a lone boy.

"Shigure-kun...!?"